FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 28 APRIL - 4 MAY 1975
This week's many stories include the orgy of destruction in College Street, St Helens is deemed a great place to retire, there's some good news for the woman whose handbag was stolen in Holy Cross Church, BICC changes its name to … BICC, the Blackbrook and Billinge schools for disturbed adolescents and the well-known alcoholic clergyman who admitted embezzling thousands of pounds of church funds to buy booze.
We begin on the morning of the 28th when seventy children had to be turned away from the council's College Street day nursery after shocked staff had found the place extensively vandalised. Later in the week the Reporter dubbed the damage an "orgy of destruction".
Intruders who had broken into the building through a window in the babies' room had wrecked loads of equipment including record players, tape recorders, radios and clocks. They had also forced open 18 lockers and destroyed clothing and personal belongings belonging to the staff and smashed kitchen fittings.
The matron of the nursery was Margaret Ephgrave who said: "I could have broke down and wept at the sight of all that wanton destruction. There wasn't a room in the building they hadn't been into. They just seemed intent on doing as much damage as they could."
St Helens' first purpose-built day nursery had been opened in College Street in 1973, replacing the old centre in Hall Street. Most of the kids were said to be from single parent families that were being looked after while their mother or father went to work – or took a few hours off to relax. Although working in a new building, the job titles of the staff were very old fashioned with the young carers known as nurses and their boss called a matron.
The Heron Service Station on Prescot Road had not been opened long before it suffered two armed hold-ups within a week. On the 29th a 23-year-old from Scholes Lane was sentenced to 8 years in prison for committing the robberies in early February and a separate string of burglaries.
In one break-in in Upland Road, the young man had stolen the shotgun that was used in the robberies after sawing off its butt and shortening the barrel. His 24-year-old accomplice from Cumberland Avenue received five years in jail.
I remember before going through the Confirmation service at my local church in Rainford in the late ‘60s, being instructed by the vicar not to put Brylcreem on our hair so that the bishop did not get sticky hands!
Whether that was an issue for Joseph Gray, I don't know but on May 1st the RC Bishop of Liverpool was at Lowe House Church conferring confirmation on many youngsters and next week he'd conduct a similar ceremony during Mass at St Theresa's in Sutton Manor.
Thirty workers at the Neta-Line metal works in Sutton Road in St Helens were made redundant this week and given just two hours notice of losing their jobs. Union shop steward Ivan Elvin stated that despite some staff having worked there for nearly 20 years, they had been palmed off with a week's wages in lieu and another week's pay as a so-called "parting gift". Mr Elvin added: "It came right out of the blue and everyone was shattered by how it was done."
Greenall Whitley (shown above in Hall Street) were running down their operations in St Helens with the brewery's closure scheduled for the end of the year. Although some staff were relocating to Warrington, others were being made redundant – although the company was doing things the right way.
As well as apparently paying those losing their jobs full redundancy money, a party for forty of the sacked staff took place this week at the Fleece Hotel. Many of the brewery's bosses turned up and one manager, Steve Thornburn, said: "Because of their long service and there was such a crowd of them going, we thought we ought to show some appreciation and thanks to them, so we threw this party."
It was announced this week that BICC planned to change its name to … BICC. The Prescot company had been formed in 1945 by the merger of British Insulated Cables and Callender's Cable and Construction. The new firm was officially known as British Insulated Callender's Cables Ltd but being such a mouthful the name was universally abbreviated to BICC. The plan was now to make those four letters the firm's official name.
On the 2nd the St Helens Reporter stated that a survey had revealed that St Helens was one of the top four places in Britain for a cheap retirement. The magazine had conducted the survey based on the price of an average three bedroom semi-detached house; the cost of a 23-item typical shopping basket; the opportunities for part-time work for the retired and facilities for transport, car parking, shopping and education. Local estate agents had revealed that the average price for a three bedroomed semi with garage in St Helens was £8,250.
A couple of weeks ago I described how Catharine Lohan had had her handbag stolen in Holy Cross Church in Corporation Street while she had been taking Communion. Catharine was from St Helens but after getting married had moved down south and had told the Reporter:
"Down in Kent everyone leaves their handbags on the pews when they take Communion. I never dreamt something would happen like this in St. Helens...It came as a terrible blow to learn that someone would steal from inside a church." Inside the handbag had been £45 and many treasured possessions, including family photos and Mrs Lohan had appealed for the return of the latter.
Some of the pictures featured her late husband and this week the 65-year-old made a special journey back to her hometown to thank two men who had found them. They were Tom Foster from Juddfield Street in Haydock and Ray Penny of Blackdown Grove in Parr. Mr Foster told the Reporter:
"We saw some papers lying in the entry among some rubbish last week but thought nothing about it. It was only when we read in the Reporter about Mrs. Lohan's handbag being stolen that we realised the discarded papers might belong to her, so we took them to the police."
In response Mrs Lohan said: "Although my bank book, money and house keys were not recovered, I can't thank Mr. Foster and Mr. Penny enough. I treasure those old photographs and letters. They really do mean a lot to me."
Eric Miller was praised in the Reporter after planting 50 trees, half-a-dozen bushes and a garden seat in the backyard of his motor works in Church Street and – as the paper put it – converting an eyesore into a "mini-Shangri La". Now his staff of 30 had a pleasant space overlooking the canal where they could sit and eat their lunchtime sandwiches.
The Reporter also disclosed that a St Helens clergyman "well known in the town" had admitted being an alcoholic who had embezzled thousands of pounds worth of church funds to buy drink. The cleric had given an interview to the paper to promote the work of Alcoholics Anonymous but, understandably, did not want his name made public.
He had at one time been drinking two bottles of whisky a day and if that was not available, the clergyman said he would drink the wine used in church services. But he had now been dry for over two years and although the Church had largely been supportive of him, it appeared their motivation was more about concern for the institution's reputation than for the man himself, with the individual saying:
"I have been moved all over the place because my superiors thought I might cause a scandal". That appears to have a parallel with the recent child sex scandal in the church, although being moved about had clearly worked out well for the man brave enough to tell his story in the Reporter who also reckoned over 1,000 people in St Helens suffered from alcoholism.
The paper also stated that Merseyside County Council's Highways and Tunnels Committee were in a race against time to arrange new rubbish tipping space in St Helens. That was because the existing tip at Chester Lane was almost at full capacity and there was nowhere else to dump refuse. Negotiations were due to begin with Pilkingtons to try and buy space for tipping at their Ravenhead Quarry but there was much red tape to overcome.
The Reporter also described how St Helens Council was paying a "staggering" £101,000 a year to run two "specialised schools for highly disturbed adolescents". There were 42 children housed at Blackbrook House in Blackbrook Road and 82 living at Greenfield House in Carr Mill Road in Billinge.
The Liverpool Catholic Children’s Social Services Organisation administered both homes. In defending the cost (around £1.4m per year in today's money) the society told the Reporter: "People want these youngsters removed from the community, so I suppose this is something that the community will have to pay for."
And finally, at the ABC Savoy cinema from the 4th, 'Murder on the Orient Express' starring Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall and Ingrid Bergman replaced 'Death Wish' with Charles Bronson. And the Capitol replaced 'Dirty Mary – Crazy Larry' with a sex film called 'Chesty Morgan and her Deadly Weapons'.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the pet parade at the Capitol Cinema, the nameless streets by Eccleston Mere, the broken-hearted pigeon fancier and Saints visit Windle Hall to celebrate becoming rugby league champions.
We begin on the morning of the 28th when seventy children had to be turned away from the council's College Street day nursery after shocked staff had found the place extensively vandalised. Later in the week the Reporter dubbed the damage an "orgy of destruction".
Intruders who had broken into the building through a window in the babies' room had wrecked loads of equipment including record players, tape recorders, radios and clocks. They had also forced open 18 lockers and destroyed clothing and personal belongings belonging to the staff and smashed kitchen fittings.
The matron of the nursery was Margaret Ephgrave who said: "I could have broke down and wept at the sight of all that wanton destruction. There wasn't a room in the building they hadn't been into. They just seemed intent on doing as much damage as they could."
St Helens' first purpose-built day nursery had been opened in College Street in 1973, replacing the old centre in Hall Street. Most of the kids were said to be from single parent families that were being looked after while their mother or father went to work – or took a few hours off to relax. Although working in a new building, the job titles of the staff were very old fashioned with the young carers known as nurses and their boss called a matron.
The Heron Service Station on Prescot Road had not been opened long before it suffered two armed hold-ups within a week. On the 29th a 23-year-old from Scholes Lane was sentenced to 8 years in prison for committing the robberies in early February and a separate string of burglaries.
In one break-in in Upland Road, the young man had stolen the shotgun that was used in the robberies after sawing off its butt and shortening the barrel. His 24-year-old accomplice from Cumberland Avenue received five years in jail.
I remember before going through the Confirmation service at my local church in Rainford in the late ‘60s, being instructed by the vicar not to put Brylcreem on our hair so that the bishop did not get sticky hands!
Whether that was an issue for Joseph Gray, I don't know but on May 1st the RC Bishop of Liverpool was at Lowe House Church conferring confirmation on many youngsters and next week he'd conduct a similar ceremony during Mass at St Theresa's in Sutton Manor.
Thirty workers at the Neta-Line metal works in Sutton Road in St Helens were made redundant this week and given just two hours notice of losing their jobs. Union shop steward Ivan Elvin stated that despite some staff having worked there for nearly 20 years, they had been palmed off with a week's wages in lieu and another week's pay as a so-called "parting gift". Mr Elvin added: "It came right out of the blue and everyone was shattered by how it was done."
As well as apparently paying those losing their jobs full redundancy money, a party for forty of the sacked staff took place this week at the Fleece Hotel. Many of the brewery's bosses turned up and one manager, Steve Thornburn, said: "Because of their long service and there was such a crowd of them going, we thought we ought to show some appreciation and thanks to them, so we threw this party."
It was announced this week that BICC planned to change its name to … BICC. The Prescot company had been formed in 1945 by the merger of British Insulated Cables and Callender's Cable and Construction. The new firm was officially known as British Insulated Callender's Cables Ltd but being such a mouthful the name was universally abbreviated to BICC. The plan was now to make those four letters the firm's official name.
On the 2nd the St Helens Reporter stated that a survey had revealed that St Helens was one of the top four places in Britain for a cheap retirement. The magazine had conducted the survey based on the price of an average three bedroom semi-detached house; the cost of a 23-item typical shopping basket; the opportunities for part-time work for the retired and facilities for transport, car parking, shopping and education. Local estate agents had revealed that the average price for a three bedroomed semi with garage in St Helens was £8,250.
"Down in Kent everyone leaves their handbags on the pews when they take Communion. I never dreamt something would happen like this in St. Helens...It came as a terrible blow to learn that someone would steal from inside a church." Inside the handbag had been £45 and many treasured possessions, including family photos and Mrs Lohan had appealed for the return of the latter.
Some of the pictures featured her late husband and this week the 65-year-old made a special journey back to her hometown to thank two men who had found them. They were Tom Foster from Juddfield Street in Haydock and Ray Penny of Blackdown Grove in Parr. Mr Foster told the Reporter:
"We saw some papers lying in the entry among some rubbish last week but thought nothing about it. It was only when we read in the Reporter about Mrs. Lohan's handbag being stolen that we realised the discarded papers might belong to her, so we took them to the police."
In response Mrs Lohan said: "Although my bank book, money and house keys were not recovered, I can't thank Mr. Foster and Mr. Penny enough. I treasure those old photographs and letters. They really do mean a lot to me."
Eric Miller was praised in the Reporter after planting 50 trees, half-a-dozen bushes and a garden seat in the backyard of his motor works in Church Street and – as the paper put it – converting an eyesore into a "mini-Shangri La". Now his staff of 30 had a pleasant space overlooking the canal where they could sit and eat their lunchtime sandwiches.
The Reporter also disclosed that a St Helens clergyman "well known in the town" had admitted being an alcoholic who had embezzled thousands of pounds worth of church funds to buy drink. The cleric had given an interview to the paper to promote the work of Alcoholics Anonymous but, understandably, did not want his name made public.
He had at one time been drinking two bottles of whisky a day and if that was not available, the clergyman said he would drink the wine used in church services. But he had now been dry for over two years and although the Church had largely been supportive of him, it appeared their motivation was more about concern for the institution's reputation than for the man himself, with the individual saying:
"I have been moved all over the place because my superiors thought I might cause a scandal". That appears to have a parallel with the recent child sex scandal in the church, although being moved about had clearly worked out well for the man brave enough to tell his story in the Reporter who also reckoned over 1,000 people in St Helens suffered from alcoholism.
The paper also stated that Merseyside County Council's Highways and Tunnels Committee were in a race against time to arrange new rubbish tipping space in St Helens. That was because the existing tip at Chester Lane was almost at full capacity and there was nowhere else to dump refuse. Negotiations were due to begin with Pilkingtons to try and buy space for tipping at their Ravenhead Quarry but there was much red tape to overcome.
The Reporter also described how St Helens Council was paying a "staggering" £101,000 a year to run two "specialised schools for highly disturbed adolescents". There were 42 children housed at Blackbrook House in Blackbrook Road and 82 living at Greenfield House in Carr Mill Road in Billinge.
The Liverpool Catholic Children’s Social Services Organisation administered both homes. In defending the cost (around £1.4m per year in today's money) the society told the Reporter: "People want these youngsters removed from the community, so I suppose this is something that the community will have to pay for."
And finally, at the ABC Savoy cinema from the 4th, 'Murder on the Orient Express' starring Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall and Ingrid Bergman replaced 'Death Wish' with Charles Bronson. And the Capitol replaced 'Dirty Mary – Crazy Larry' with a sex film called 'Chesty Morgan and her Deadly Weapons'.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the pet parade at the Capitol Cinema, the nameless streets by Eccleston Mere, the broken-hearted pigeon fancier and Saints visit Windle Hall to celebrate becoming rugby league champions.
This week's many stories include the orgy of destruction in College Street, St Helens is deemed a great place to retire, there's some good news for the woman whose handbag was stolen in Holy Cross Church, BICC changes its name to … BICC, the Blackbrook and Billinge schools for disturbed adolescents and the well-known alcoholic clergyman who admitted embezzling thousands of pounds of church funds to buy booze.
We begin on the morning of the 28th when seventy children had to be turned away from the council's College Street day nursery after shocked staff had found the place extensively vandalised.
Later in the week the Reporter dubbed the damage an "orgy of destruction".
Intruders who had broken into the building through a window in the babies' room had wrecked loads of equipment including record players, tape recorders, radios and clocks.
They had also forced open 18 lockers and destroyed clothing and personal belongings belonging to the staff and smashed kitchen fittings.
The matron of the nursery was Margaret Ephgrave who said:
"I could have broke down and wept at the sight of all that wanton destruction. There wasn't a room in the building they hadn't been into. They just seemed intent on doing as much damage as they could."
St Helens' first purpose-built day nursery had been opened in College Street in 1973, replacing the old centre in Hall Street.
Most of the kids were said to be from single parent families that were being looked after while their mother or father went to work – or took a few hours off to relax.
Although working in a new building, the job titles of the staff were very old fashioned with the young carers known as nurses and their boss called a matron.
The Heron Service Station on Prescot Road had not been opened long before it suffered two armed hold-ups within a week.
On the 29th a 23-year-old from Scholes Lane was sentenced to 8 years in prison for committing the robberies in early February and a separate string of burglaries.
In one break-in in Upland Road, the young man had stolen the shotgun that was used in the robberies after sawing off its butt and shortening the barrel.
His 24-year-old accomplice from Cumberland Avenue received five years in jail.
I remember before going through the Confirmation service at my local church in Rainford in the late ‘60s, being instructed by the vicar not to put Brylcreem on our hair so that the bishop did not get sticky hands!
Whether that was an issue for Joseph Gray, I don't know but on May 1st the RC Bishop of Liverpool was at Lowe House Church conferring confirmation on many youngsters and next week he'd conduct a similar ceremony during Mass at St Theresa's in Sutton Manor.
Thirty workers at the Neta-Line metal works in Sutton Road in St Helens were made redundant this week and given just two hours notice of losing their jobs.
Union shop steward Ivan Elvin stated that despite some staff having worked there for nearly 20 years, they had been palmed off with a week's wages in lieu and another week's pay as a so-called "parting gift". Mr Elvin added:
"It came right out of the blue and everyone was shattered by how it was done."
Greenall Whitley (shown above in Hall Street) were running down their operations in St Helens with the brewery's closure scheduled for the end of the year.
Although some staff were relocating to Warrington, others were being made redundant – although the company was doing things the right way.
As well as apparently paying those losing their jobs full redundancy money, a party for forty of the sacked staff took place this week at the Fleece Hotel.
Many of the brewery's bosses turned up and one manager, Steve Thornburn, said:
"Because of their long service and there was such a crowd of them going, we thought we ought to show some appreciation and thanks to them, so we threw this party."
It was announced this week that BICC planned to change its name to … BICC. The Prescot company had been formed in 1945 by the merger of British Insulated Cables and Callender's Cable and Construction.
The new firm was officially known as British Insulated Callender's Cables Ltd but being such a mouthful the name was universally abbreviated to BICC. The plan was now to make those four letters the firm's official name.
On the 2nd the St Helens Reporter stated that a survey had revealed that St Helens was one of the top four places in Britain for a cheap retirement.
The magazine had conducted the survey based on the price of an average three bedroom semi-detached house; the cost of a 23-item typical shopping basket; the opportunities for part-time work for the retired and facilities for transport, car parking, shopping and education.
Local estate agents had revealed that the average price for a three bedroomed semi with garage in St Helens was £8,250.
A couple of weeks ago I described how Catharine Lohan had had her handbag stolen in Holy Cross Church in Corporation Street while she had been taking Communion.
Catharine was from St Helens but after getting married had moved down south and had told the Reporter:
"Down in Kent everyone leaves their handbags on the pews when they take Communion. I never dreamt something would happen like this in St. Helens...It came as a terrible blow to learn that someone would steal from inside a church."
Inside the handbag had been £45 and many treasured possessions, including family photos and Mrs Lohan had appealed for the return of the latter.
Some of the pictures featured her late husband and this week the 65-year-old made a special journey back to her hometown to thank two men who had found them.
They were Tom Foster from Juddfield Street in Haydock and Ray Penny of Blackdown Grove in Parr. Mr Foster told the Reporter:
"We saw some papers lying in the entry among some rubbish last week but thought nothing about it. It was only when we read in the Reporter about Mrs. Lohan's handbag being stolen that we realised the discarded papers might belong to her, so we took them to the police."
In response Mrs Lohan said: "Although my bank book, money and house keys were not recovered, I can't thank Mr. Foster and Mr. Penny enough. I treasure those old photographs and letters. They really do mean a lot to me."
Eric Miller was praised in the Reporter after planting 50 trees, half-a-dozen bushes and a garden seat in the backyard of his motor works in Church Street and – as the paper put it – converting an eyesore into a "mini-Shangri La".
Now his staff of 30 had a pleasant space overlooking the canal where they could sit and eat their lunchtime sandwiches.
The Reporter also disclosed that a St Helens clergyman "well known in the town" had admitted being an alcoholic who had embezzled thousands of pounds worth of church funds to buy drink.
The cleric had given an interview to the paper to promote the work of Alcoholics Anonymous but, understandably, did not want his name made public.
He had at one time been drinking two bottles of whisky a day and if that was not available, the clergyman said he would drink the wine used in church services.
But he had now been dry for over two years and although the Church had largely been supportive of him, it appeared their motivation was more about concern for the institution's reputation than for the man himself, with the individual saying:
"I have been moved all over the place because my superiors thought I might cause a scandal".
That appears to have a parallel with the recent child sex scandal in the church, although being moved about had clearly worked out well for the man brave enough to tell his story in the Reporter who also reckoned over 1,000 people in St Helens suffered from alcoholism.
The paper also stated that Merseyside County Council's Highways and Tunnels Committee were in a race against time to arrange new rubbish tipping space in St Helens.
That was because the existing tip at Chester Lane was almost at full capacity and there was nowhere else to dump refuse.
Negotiations were due to begin with Pilkingtons to try and buy space for tipping at their Ravenhead Quarry but there was much red tape to overcome.
The Reporter also described how St Helens Council was paying a "staggering" £101,000 a year to run two "specialised schools for highly disturbed adolescents".
There were 42 children housed at Blackbrook House in Blackbrook Road and 82 living at Greenfield House in Carr Mill Road in Billinge.
The Liverpool Catholic Children’s Social Services Organisation administered both homes.
In defending the cost (around £1.4m per year in today's money) the society told the Reporter:
"People want these youngsters removed from the community, so I suppose this is something that the community will have to pay for."
And finally, at the ABC Savoy cinema from the 4th, 'Murder on the Orient Express' starring Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall and Ingrid Bergman replaced 'Death Wish' with Charles Bronson.
And the Capitol replaced 'Dirty Mary – Crazy Larry' with a sex film called 'Chesty Morgan and her Deadly Weapons'.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the pet parade at the Capitol Cinema, the nameless streets by Eccleston Mere, the broken-hearted pigeon fancier and Saints visit Windle Hall to celebrate becoming rugby league champions.
We begin on the morning of the 28th when seventy children had to be turned away from the council's College Street day nursery after shocked staff had found the place extensively vandalised.
Later in the week the Reporter dubbed the damage an "orgy of destruction".
Intruders who had broken into the building through a window in the babies' room had wrecked loads of equipment including record players, tape recorders, radios and clocks.
They had also forced open 18 lockers and destroyed clothing and personal belongings belonging to the staff and smashed kitchen fittings.
The matron of the nursery was Margaret Ephgrave who said:
"I could have broke down and wept at the sight of all that wanton destruction. There wasn't a room in the building they hadn't been into. They just seemed intent on doing as much damage as they could."
St Helens' first purpose-built day nursery had been opened in College Street in 1973, replacing the old centre in Hall Street.
Most of the kids were said to be from single parent families that were being looked after while their mother or father went to work – or took a few hours off to relax.
Although working in a new building, the job titles of the staff were very old fashioned with the young carers known as nurses and their boss called a matron.
The Heron Service Station on Prescot Road had not been opened long before it suffered two armed hold-ups within a week.
On the 29th a 23-year-old from Scholes Lane was sentenced to 8 years in prison for committing the robberies in early February and a separate string of burglaries.
In one break-in in Upland Road, the young man had stolen the shotgun that was used in the robberies after sawing off its butt and shortening the barrel.
His 24-year-old accomplice from Cumberland Avenue received five years in jail.
I remember before going through the Confirmation service at my local church in Rainford in the late ‘60s, being instructed by the vicar not to put Brylcreem on our hair so that the bishop did not get sticky hands!
Whether that was an issue for Joseph Gray, I don't know but on May 1st the RC Bishop of Liverpool was at Lowe House Church conferring confirmation on many youngsters and next week he'd conduct a similar ceremony during Mass at St Theresa's in Sutton Manor.
Thirty workers at the Neta-Line metal works in Sutton Road in St Helens were made redundant this week and given just two hours notice of losing their jobs.
Union shop steward Ivan Elvin stated that despite some staff having worked there for nearly 20 years, they had been palmed off with a week's wages in lieu and another week's pay as a so-called "parting gift". Mr Elvin added:
"It came right out of the blue and everyone was shattered by how it was done."
Although some staff were relocating to Warrington, others were being made redundant – although the company was doing things the right way.
As well as apparently paying those losing their jobs full redundancy money, a party for forty of the sacked staff took place this week at the Fleece Hotel.
Many of the brewery's bosses turned up and one manager, Steve Thornburn, said:
"Because of their long service and there was such a crowd of them going, we thought we ought to show some appreciation and thanks to them, so we threw this party."
It was announced this week that BICC planned to change its name to … BICC. The Prescot company had been formed in 1945 by the merger of British Insulated Cables and Callender's Cable and Construction.
The new firm was officially known as British Insulated Callender's Cables Ltd but being such a mouthful the name was universally abbreviated to BICC. The plan was now to make those four letters the firm's official name.
On the 2nd the St Helens Reporter stated that a survey had revealed that St Helens was one of the top four places in Britain for a cheap retirement.
The magazine had conducted the survey based on the price of an average three bedroom semi-detached house; the cost of a 23-item typical shopping basket; the opportunities for part-time work for the retired and facilities for transport, car parking, shopping and education.
Local estate agents had revealed that the average price for a three bedroomed semi with garage in St Helens was £8,250.
Catharine was from St Helens but after getting married had moved down south and had told the Reporter:
"Down in Kent everyone leaves their handbags on the pews when they take Communion. I never dreamt something would happen like this in St. Helens...It came as a terrible blow to learn that someone would steal from inside a church."
Inside the handbag had been £45 and many treasured possessions, including family photos and Mrs Lohan had appealed for the return of the latter.
Some of the pictures featured her late husband and this week the 65-year-old made a special journey back to her hometown to thank two men who had found them.
They were Tom Foster from Juddfield Street in Haydock and Ray Penny of Blackdown Grove in Parr. Mr Foster told the Reporter:
"We saw some papers lying in the entry among some rubbish last week but thought nothing about it. It was only when we read in the Reporter about Mrs. Lohan's handbag being stolen that we realised the discarded papers might belong to her, so we took them to the police."
In response Mrs Lohan said: "Although my bank book, money and house keys were not recovered, I can't thank Mr. Foster and Mr. Penny enough. I treasure those old photographs and letters. They really do mean a lot to me."
Eric Miller was praised in the Reporter after planting 50 trees, half-a-dozen bushes and a garden seat in the backyard of his motor works in Church Street and – as the paper put it – converting an eyesore into a "mini-Shangri La".
Now his staff of 30 had a pleasant space overlooking the canal where they could sit and eat their lunchtime sandwiches.
The Reporter also disclosed that a St Helens clergyman "well known in the town" had admitted being an alcoholic who had embezzled thousands of pounds worth of church funds to buy drink.
The cleric had given an interview to the paper to promote the work of Alcoholics Anonymous but, understandably, did not want his name made public.
He had at one time been drinking two bottles of whisky a day and if that was not available, the clergyman said he would drink the wine used in church services.
But he had now been dry for over two years and although the Church had largely been supportive of him, it appeared their motivation was more about concern for the institution's reputation than for the man himself, with the individual saying:
"I have been moved all over the place because my superiors thought I might cause a scandal".
That appears to have a parallel with the recent child sex scandal in the church, although being moved about had clearly worked out well for the man brave enough to tell his story in the Reporter who also reckoned over 1,000 people in St Helens suffered from alcoholism.
The paper also stated that Merseyside County Council's Highways and Tunnels Committee were in a race against time to arrange new rubbish tipping space in St Helens.
That was because the existing tip at Chester Lane was almost at full capacity and there was nowhere else to dump refuse.
Negotiations were due to begin with Pilkingtons to try and buy space for tipping at their Ravenhead Quarry but there was much red tape to overcome.
The Reporter also described how St Helens Council was paying a "staggering" £101,000 a year to run two "specialised schools for highly disturbed adolescents".
There were 42 children housed at Blackbrook House in Blackbrook Road and 82 living at Greenfield House in Carr Mill Road in Billinge.
The Liverpool Catholic Children’s Social Services Organisation administered both homes.
In defending the cost (around £1.4m per year in today's money) the society told the Reporter:
"People want these youngsters removed from the community, so I suppose this is something that the community will have to pay for."
And finally, at the ABC Savoy cinema from the 4th, 'Murder on the Orient Express' starring Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall and Ingrid Bergman replaced 'Death Wish' with Charles Bronson.
And the Capitol replaced 'Dirty Mary – Crazy Larry' with a sex film called 'Chesty Morgan and her Deadly Weapons'.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the pet parade at the Capitol Cinema, the nameless streets by Eccleston Mere, the broken-hearted pigeon fancier and Saints visit Windle Hall to celebrate becoming rugby league champions.